Pahlavi Dynasty
Iran's last royal dynasty (1925–1979), comprising Reza Shah and Mohammad Reza Shah, marked by rapid modernization, centralized power, and final overthrow in the 1979 Revolution.
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- Period
- 1925–1979 CE
- Founder
- Reza Shah Pahlavi
- Second monarch
- Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
- End
- 1979 Revolution
Detail
The Pahlavi dynasty was founded in 1925 with the rise of Reza Khan—a Cossack Brigade officer who took power after the 1921 coup—and the deposition of the Qajars. Reza Shah built a centralized, modernizing state: a modern army, a trans-Iranian railway, modern educational and judicial systems, the University of Tehran, and social reforms including the unveiling of women, which some regard as authoritarian and coercive modernization. In 1941 the Allies forced him to abdicate over his perceived pro-German leanings and exiled him, and his son Mohammad Reza ascended the throne. Mohammad Reza Shah's reign saw the nationalization of oil under Mossadegh, the 1953 coup, then the "White Revolution" (land reform and women's suffrage) and vast oil revenues, but political repression, the role of SAVAK, and dependence on the West bred widespread discontent. The 1979 Revolution finally ended the Pahlavi monarchy and 2,500 years of kingship in Iran, sending the Shah into exile.
Related entities
Also appears in
Sources
- Encyclopædia Iranica, "Pahlavi Dynasty"
- Ervand Abrahamian, A History of Modern Iran
- Abbas Milani, The Shah